Young athletes from Ukraine escape war, train in Albania

By LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

ELBASAN, Albania (AP) — A group of young Ukrainian track and field athletes have made their way to safety in Albania after fleeing from a war zone. Their minds are still between the two countries. Seventeen-year-old Maria Lariva says “I miss my mother’s food and grandmother’s advice.” Lariva and seven other teenage athletes were evacuated from a city in the Donetsk region that is part of Ukraine’s industrial heartland. Their families have stayed behind. Seventeen-year-old Valentyn Loboda says “I talk with my family every day. Many times a day.” The eight athletes are training at the Sport Club Elbasani with help from the Albanian Olympic committee and the city of Elbasan.